Wayne Brown: Auckland’s diverse population presents rich opportunities

Sunday, 18 August 2024

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, centre, and Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk, to his left, pictured with members of the Chinese building community at the 2024 NZ International Building Summit Awards in Auckland.

Wayne Brown is the mayor of Auckland.

OPINION: Much is made of Auckland’s diverse population of umpteen different languages and countries of origin, but it is easy to live in some of our suburbs and not be really aware of the size and power of some of our diverse groups.

Boomers like me grew up in an Auckland that was mostly Pākehā with sizeable groups of Māori and Pasifika; the rugby team I played for at Te Papapa was an equal mix of all three groups.

Pasifika residents have made an impact in sports and productive industries and many of us marvel at the dramatic growth in Māori business, with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei setting a great example.

But in recent years this population mix has changed dramatically due to huge increases of immigration from many countries, but particularly from the world’s most populous countries - being India and China - who both now have around a quarter of a million residents here.

Both Indian and Chinese immigrants have brought a business focus with startling results. Would we have 24-hour shops and service stations without the Indian focus on business at all hours, and would our central city skyline look so dramatic without Chinese construction input?

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown speaks Mandarin at the 2024 NZ International Building Summit Awards in Auckland. The mayor has been learning Mandarin.

As mayor covering the whole of our city’s 6000 square kilometres I get exposed to some very dramatic examples of the power and impact of these new immigrant groups.

Last week, along with the prime minister, I spoke at the NZ International Building Summit Awards and showed off my limited but slowly improving Mandarin to a huge audience of building entrepreneurs responsible for dozens of housing projects and some huge commercial developments. I will lead a business delegation to several Chinese cities later this year to extend our already large trade with this country using the power of the local Chinese community.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, left, and local businessma Richard Kumar, centre, speak with Indian Hindu guru Bageshwar Dham Sarkar during his visit to NZ.

That was really no surprise, but the Indian community certainly gave me one last week. A local Indian with a Hindi language outlet contacted me for help to obtain a visa for a Hindu leader who was coming to talk to his followers.

Given that the trade minister has been tasked with obtaining a trade agreement with the world’s largest population and what will soon become the third-largest economy, supporting this visa application for a short visit seemed very sensible, especially given that India’s leader Modi is a Hindu Nationalist, yet some unhelpful bureaucrats were turning down this short-term visa.

I interfered and the visa was granted for this person who I, along with most readers, had never heard of. I was invited to meet this person who wished to thank me. I showed up and met a very nice young man who has an astounding Guinness World Records nod as the person who has pulled the largest crowd ever.

He is known as Bageshwar Dham Sarkar. He pulled an audience of around 20,000 to West Auckland during his visit, and pulled 1.8 million to hear him in Uttar Pradesh to set the record. Who’d have thought this nice young man could so easily outpull Taylor Swift? And who could have such an impact in a peaceful way that will do much for obtaining trade increases - which some bureaucrat nearly wrecked.

What this shows is the real level of international goodwill we can harvest by using and enjoying these large immigrant groups who enrich our city.

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